I Should Be Working On My Essay.

Menggaruk-garuk
Dengan sepenuh hati
Waktunya mandi

Hahaha.

Beneran nih. Kalau sudah rasa-rasanya ada yang berkoloni di kepala dan merayap-rayap diantara rambut, itu berarti:

1. Harus mandi.
2. Harus keramas.
3. Harus ganti seprai.
4. Harus potong rambut.
5. Harus memakai flea collar-nya Juggie.

Parah euy. Seumur-umur belom pernah gua merasa diajab-ajab begini. Pake masuk-masuk ke mata pula. Could be the spider babies I found under my mattress three nights ago. Ugh. Seriously. I probably should've sprayed the room yesterday. Oh well. Hahaha.

And here's some pictures.

I learned the hard way that dropping a broken egg into boiling water does not turn into anything edible. Alternatively, it might be, but it just put me off completely. Way to waste two eggs, too.

S-Block in the afternoon. It's a lovely place to wait for my evening ESLA lecture.


I wanted to make an animated .gif files out of these, but I discovered that I couldn't be arsed. Still, it would've come out awesome. Gam, you wanna try?

Hahahahahahahah. I still can't believe kept it. Or edited this. Or posted it on a public blog. Like Morning Musume, only far less attractive and marketable. Mmm...Morning Musume. It sounds like a breakfast product for lonely people (myself included).

30-something Guy: Mmm...I sure do like the taste of them Morning Musume in the morning.

Hmm...that came out a bit wrong.

Oh, and change the first "u" with an "e" in Morning Musume, drop the last "e", and you've got a good term for yours truly. Hahahaha.

Moving along...

Not much to report, really. My essays are still waiting to be made, and I'm guessing I'll have to devote my next four days to ESLA101 and ERTH103. Gar. Of course, I could've done them during that study break which went on for two weeks, but being me, I went off happily swinging my bamboo sword on the field at any given time. Now I've got a that smarmy voice in the back of my head again that whispering "told you so". "I didn't do it over the study break, so I need a week's extension to get it done" probably isn't a terribly good excuse for an extension...

Ah, yes. Kendo. I've found out last week that girls in battle armor whacking each other and screaming bloody murder is quite...stimulating. Rrr. It's almost like dancing, actually. One anticipates the next move of the opponent/partner then reacts, one leads. Chances are one of the two are going to get hit. Or both, actually. Watching my senpai battle against the Auckland club showed me one thing; if you blink you can miss a whole lot. Ruby-senpai's surprise do strike was one of those. One second she was in kamae position, then was suddenly behind her opponent. I blinked inbetween and heard a *crack*. Most impressive. I can only hope I shall get better eventually. And that leads me to my own kendo skills...unimpressive. These days I feel like a complete noob. Like I can't get anything right. My sparring partner, Clement, seems to be picking it up a lot faster, and he's 3 years my junior. Grrr. But I decided that I'll stick to my practice like a stubborn donkey...something that I haven't been since I was a kid. You're never too old to learn new tricks, neh?

On a completely random note, I'm finding that new 30 Seconds to Mars single quite...enjoyable. Yup. Waktunya nyuci kuping pake air zam-zam. Dan karbol. Come to think of it, I should probably use that on my head tonight. Har.


Here's to the new week.


[End Transmission]

On Blog Pages

They're a hassle.

I honestly do wonder about how people can even make their blogs look mighty pretty. Mine's about as generic as they get.

Meh.

[End Transmission]

ANZAC Day and Kendo Practice

If you prick us, do we not bleed Indigo? If you Tsuki us, do we not stagger backwards choking? ~ found on the Kendo World Forum.


Ahahahah. That was pretty good.

Anyway, it's ANZAC Day here. Now, for an international student like myself, ANZAC Day is but a conveniently placed holiday only two days after a two-week break. Honestly, I couldn't care less whether it was ANZAC Day or the Queen's Birthday. Neither of them really give much significance in my viewpoint. At worst, it inspires a bit of anti-imperialistic sentiments (found in most 'third-world country' citizens whose history incorporates a LOT of colonialism). But since I'm here, I should respect what the day means to my hosts.

Pretty much, I think it's a waste. ANZAC Day commemorates those Aussie and Kiwi soldiers who died during the two world wars (and other, more recent conflicts). The thing is, they gave their lives for the 'mother country', i.e. Britain. I'm still pretty much confused about why they'd even bother. To go off into a war you didn't declare thousands of miles away, to die in a foreign land for a cause not your own. They fought for Britain, just as North African colonies fought for France in both world wars and, to a certain extent, some of my own countrymen in defence of a certain European nation that exploited the country for three centuries (any guesses?). Maybe it's just that I'm not patriotic enough to care if my country gets involved a war. I'd fight for the nation, perhaps, but for a cause not my own? There's no way in hell I'd die for the government. Hah.

But I sure am one to talk. My loyalties, I guess, are askew. I feel a bond to the land...but not exactly to the country itself. I might end up exploiting it all the same. In short, I have no loyalties. I claim to be Indo, but don't love my country enough to be that. I can pretty much live anywhere else in the world and not give two shits about my country, save where something affects those directly connected with me. I just don't identify with the *ahem* greater good. I know it's selfish, you don't have to tell me that. But at the peak, I daresay that many of us feel this way.

Ugh. So much hypocrisy on a Wednesday afternoon!

That was an unpleasant start. So let's get on to more positive news.

Well, my kendo practice is still going pretty strong. Right now, it's the highlight of my days. I do hope this dedication isn't a fluke; it's not going to be funny when I buy a $1000 bogu and suddenly feeling that I don't want to go anymore. Yup. That would be...stupid. But so far I'm loving it. Just the feeling of finally belonging somewhere with a group of people who have similar interests...it took long enough. Heheh. So right now I'm just under 8th kyu, and I can't do all that fancy fencing yet. Heck, I go to practice in shorts. Pretty much goes to show what a noob I am at the moment. I've got seven year-old twins who are my senpai, and they can probably kick my ass at any given moment. But that's okay. I'm hoping to at least practice for the whole duration of my studies. The discipline is actually doing me good. I'm a bit more punctual (no more than 10 minutes late...what?), I'm exercising every other day (if you call sliding back and forth swinging a bamboo stick exercise), and I think my studying is getting a bit more focused (if marginalized...hahaha. Just kidding, dad).

So yes. That'll be an aspiration.

On an even better note, I got to hang out with my RA and her friend last night. We talked until around midnight, when she looked just about ready to collapse. I pulled out just in time (unless I overstayed my welcome long before that). She's awesome. Followed that up with a morning-long marathon of LOTR. The fanboy in me exploded in a frenzy of awe and delight.

Well, that's about all I have to say. Two assignments due Friday, two more next Friday, two more the Friday after next...yeah. Bam! We're taking it up a notch now.

Cheers.

[End Transmission]

Friday Night

It's Friday night. And I feel like dropping a list of what's been happening in my life on the unsuspecting (and uncaring) populace.

- I think I lost my (i.e. my brother's) watch. Scheiße. I've got this paranoid feeling that the housekeeper may have pocketed it yesterday...but then again I can't even remember where I put it the night before. Gah. And double gah.
Eheheh. False alarm. Apparently I put it in the last place I'd ever look; my laundry pile. Now I feel bad for being suspicious. Meh.

- I returned from a weekend trip to Auckland with a mini rice-cooker courtesy of Oom Maman and Tante Rina (bless their hearts for donating to this student's cause). It's tiny. It's cute. It's functioning properly. Score. Now I am (almost) truly Asian.

- The study break is almost over, and I have yet to start on two of my essays. Both of which are due on the 4th of May. Which is in...err...scheiße. Two weeks. Here's to a cram-o-rama starting...tomorrow. Happy days are here again...ooh, and don't forget the assignments due next week and the week after that! Man, am I going to party, or what?

- It's official; my laptop flat-out refuses to let me play my games or movies. I'm pretty sure it's a sign of divine intervention now.

- The maintenance people have yet to replace the flat's electric pan, frying pan, and knife (the thing looks as if the previous residents used it to cut steel). My free internet access in the dining hall is also out for a while. Note to self, ask the ITS people for help.

That's it! Hahah. These entries are digusting myself. I mean, where's the spark? And what's the point? It used to be that my blog was my haven. Now I'm writing it for an audience? Eh? And why am I even debating this, when the entire basis of blogging is the wish for one to be noticed in the first place? Huh? Huh?

Ahem.

On the bright side, I'm probably going to hide these first entries when I spread my blogging wings and wax lyrical once again. That will probably take a good while, but until then, I'll keep bombarding this page with pointless facts and opinions best left on the heater.

Cheers.

[End Transmission]

A Grasswatcher Cometh

Hear ye, hear ye.

The Sleepwalker hath changed his guise, for now he is the Grasswatcher.

Dedicated to the art of...watching...grass...

Ech. Who am I kidding. Apparently this hasn't been my comedic forte for some time now.

Anyway, welcome one and all, to this humble blog of mine. For those in the audience who have actually read my original blog (and I'm not telling...a part of my past best left to the fog of time), which was chock full of emo sentiments and post-pubescent drivel, this blog represents the next stage. Independence! Hoo-hah.

After considering the pros and cons of having another Xanga account (oops, that's out of the bag now), I decided to follow the lead of old comrade takuempire, who lurks around these parts with intentions best left unknown. Peace, bro.

Anyway, in case anyone (if anyone at all is reading this) is wondering why I changed monikers from a Sleepwalker *wink-wink* to a Grasswatcher, I've got to admit that I didn't really think it through properly. I guess the Sleepwalker, though he lives on, is no longer the main character. The Grasswatcher is characterised by his namesake; he takes pleasure in the small things, such as the growing grass, the floating clouds, and the attractive RA who happen to be smaller than himself. And he's probably going to have a happier tone than the emo-ish Sleepwalker. Probably. Yup.

Yes, I do realise that I am talking about myself. Or at least my blog self.

Actually, this blog is long overdue. This was meant to be the successor to dangbayan's website on living in Aotearoa (where the Grasswatcher does his watching!), a site which is probably funnier on all levels than what this hunk of text is going to be once I squeeze it out of my literary loins. Echh.

Whew. And here I thought that I had nothing to say.

Blogworld, I return.


[end transmission]